My daughter once asked me that directly when she was eight. After that I stopped trying to explain everything and just sat in the garden with both of them more. That helped more than any conversation.
My oldest asked me a similar question last year when she came to understand her little sister's diagnosis. After that I stopped trying to explain everything and instead just cooked together more often. This achieved more for us than long conversations.
Cooking together is a good idea, Markus. My youngest also loves it when we bake cookies together - she suddenly talks more than usual. Do you have a particular dish that is particularly popular with you?
That sounds like a good step. For us, kneading dough together in the kitchen had a similar effect, without any big words. Did you talk to your daughter about it again later, or did it just stay together?
Yes, being together without much explanation is often the best. A quiet walk by the lake had a similar effect on us, but later the question about autism arose. Did you do kneading dough regularly or was it a one-time thing?
Yes, kneading together without many words can really build bridges. For us, the walk by the lake later led to a completely natural question, without me having to force anything. Do you actually knead dough often with your children, or was it more of a spontaneous idea?
Yes, kneading without many words has often had more effect on us than long conversations. I don't do it every week, usually when the little one is particularly restless - then I just get the dough out and we stand next to each other at the table. Was the walk by the lake a regular thing for you or did the question come up all of a sudden?
Yes, we also had a regular walk by the lake, usually on Saturdays after lunch. For my younger one, walking calmly often opened up more than asking questions at the kitchen table. Do you make the dough yourself or do you take ready-made ones from the refrigerator?
Yes, for us kneading was also a quiet ritual that said more than words. The question came suddenly at dinner, without warning. Do you make the dough with something special in it, like raisins or nuts, or do you keep it plain?
Yes, a walk by the lake sounds just right for you, walking in silence often solves more than any conversation at the table. In our house I always bake the dough myself, I just don't like the finished one from the refrigerated shelf. Do you do it that way too or do you sometimes take a shortcut?
